People are reading about Lowell’s Irish-American roots all over New England this morning. The UMass Lowell/Queens University of Northern Ireland archaeological project on the grounds of St. Patrick Church in the Acre earned major coverage in the Boston Globe today (bottom of Page One). I was on a National Park canal tour…
On this day in history August 9th – a literary note – In 1854, Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden’’ which described Thoreau’s experiences while living near Walden Pond, was first published. Walden Pond State Reservation Concord/Lincoln, Massachusetts From the Massachusetts Depatment of Conservation and Recreation website (more information here): Henry David Thoreau lived…
Writing this week in the NYT, columnist Bob Herbert decried the educational slippage in the nation. He says we’re collectively, but especially the younger and up-and-coming generations, getting softer intellectually. He cites figures. UMass Lowell, I should say, is doing its part to buck the trend described in the column. Note the comments, too, which…
Boston Catholic Church officials announced Thursday that the archdiocese’s weekly newspaper is now available through Amazon’s Kindle e-reader and via an Apple iPhone application.The 181 year old The Pilot – America’s oldest Catholic newspaper and the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston – is the first Catholic newspaper to…
“Dear Friends, “Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to adopt the Creative Challenge Index proposal – an initiative to raise the priority of creative work in our schools – when Governor Deval Patrick signed the Economic Development Reorganization bill into law this morning. We thank Governor Patrick for…
The Wall Street Journal reported the other day that Barnes and Noble has put itself up for sale. Barnes & Noble Inc., put itself up for sale Tuesday, succumbing to pressure from shareholder activists as digital books erode the traditional business of the nation’s largest bookstore chain. The New York-based…
From the Moses Greeley Parker Lectures schedule, 2010-11 (a selected list of early fall programs): Sunday, Aug 29, 4 pm Boarding House Park, Lowell “Twelfe Night” performed by the New England Shakespeare Festival . Saturday, Oct 2, 1 pm Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center, 246 Market St, Lowell “Jack Kerouac…
Dick’s tweets and postings from Charles Cowley’s “Illustrated History of Lowell” (1868) raise the following questions: When is the next general history of Lowell due and what form will it take? In the 19th century, an illustrated history was “high-tech” in its own way. On top of that, Cowley gave us a…
For all those alums and devotees of Boston College, Holy Cross, Fordham, Canisius, Georgetown, St. Mary’s of Halifax, Wheeling Jesuit University (to which Fr. Jim Fleming, S.J. of Lowell has just been assigned) and the many other Jesuit colleges and universities – a reminder that today July 31st is the feast day of…
From the Massachusetts Cultural Council: “Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill into law yesterday that allows communities to create state-sponsored cultural districts to stimulate new arts and cultural activity and attract creative businesses. The law directs the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) to create a new program that designates local districts…